Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back is one of the main reasons I'm into video game music. It was one of the first games I played as a child (although not THE first) and its soundtrack made playing the game all the more enjoyable. It was catchy, engaging and appropriate for each level with some excellent mixes for a game released in the 20th century, even if there are some tunes now and then that sound a little dated compared to modern orchestral soundtracks. The point I'm moving towards is that with a soundtrack as amazing as this, recreating it in a way that both captures the essence of the original whilst attempting to make technical improvements without pissing on people's nostalgia was a pretty hard task to undertake. Vicarious Visions did a damn good job but ultimately made a few significant errors.
For starters, there's what I call the Wumpa Bass. One of the main reasons the soundtrack sticks with you is the use of bass/bass effects on guitar; it's thick and awesome throughout the majority of the tracks, giving the game an iconic sound that the first Crash was unable to master; a sound that heavily inspired the tunes in the GameBoy Advance Crash titles (also developed by Vicarious Visions). Music from Hang Eight, Road To Ruin, Diggin' It, the N. Gin and N. Cortex boss battles and a bunch of other levels are built around heavy basslines (or at least have notable bass sections) and even if the main melodies from those levels are the tunes that you whistle when you think about the music, the bass is what makes it that little bit better.
Whilst bass is still used in the N. Sane Trilogy rerecords, it just isn't as thick or memorable. Don't get me wrong, the level music is still great and the melodies sound as good but this is very much a decision to appease new players rather than returning ones. If you listen to the bass in the tracks I mentioned earlier, there are subtle differences between each tone that removes part of the original charm. Some tracks outright replace the bass tone on the guitar with a crunchy overdrive one, making it sound more aggressive and less cartoonish.
Another issue is the overuse of synth where inappropriate. Some levels have excellent synth usage, such as Piston It Away and its death route but other tracks go overboard or simply replace much better instruments with tacky sounding synth. I've said before on the blog that the music for the Tiny boss battle is what got me into boss battles and game music and there's a specific part of the theme that gives me shivers when I listen to it. Unfortunately, even if the intro is still great, several key moments in this track just sound naff and less imposing when they sound like they were played through computer software.
Bear It is another good example where the original hit every note perfectly. It had the jolly, bouncing rhythm and uses instruments from previous snow levels to fit in with the arctic theme, not to mention good use of synth that sounds like the bear's barks. The rerecord is heavily reliant on a variety of synths ranging from a theramin-like noise to replace the polar synth to comical squawking noises now and then. One positive is the use of dynamics in the mix of this track but it's tragically for nothing when the whole tune sounds weak, and that's not even taking the worse gameplay on the bear levels into account.
Considering how developers said they wanted to give the game the same Looney Tunes feel that Naughty Dog went for when creating the games, the overabundant use of synth seems like an odd choice but fortunately, those two flaws are the only biggies and the positives are aplenty. As with the first Crash Bandicoot, the better sound and instrument quality improves music that hasn't been majorly messed with such as Rock It, the Ripper Roo boss music and the Diggin' It death route. However, as was the case with the first Crash Bandicoot, fans of the originals will almost certainly prefer them.
There are also subtle points such as the continued use of Australian sounds/instruments. It's easy to forget that the Crash franchise is based in the Australian region so you'd expect more didgeridoos and clean guitar (similar to the Ty The Tasmanian Tiger music) but thankfully, you're not bombarded with those sounds. Instead, they just crop up here and there, notably in the Turtle Woods music, so clearly Vicarious Visions did some research. Then there are tracks that have major changes but sound a lot better.
Obviously this comes down to personal taste but there are some tunes that work brilliantly with new instruments such as the Komodo Brothers boss music, the N. Cortex boss music and (my personal favourite) the Snow Go secret route. It's a shame some of my favourite tunes from the original Crash 2 didn't get the same improvements but at least there are some levels with improved music and, as I did say at the start, Vicarious Visions deserves some credit for not completely fucking up the soundtrack.
Overall, the Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back soundtrack gives me a lot of pleasure for (mostly) nostalgic reasons but I'm glad Vicarious Visions gave me a good reason to get into it again with a collection of mostly hits in a hit and miss attempt at reinventing one of my personal favourite game soundtracks. I rate the original soundtrack 8/10 and the N. Sane Trilogy version 7/10. If they didn't fuck about with too much synth, it may just have surpassed the original.
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